Gorn
The Gorn are an aggressive, bipedal reptilian species. History and Culture According to Orion privateer Harrad-Sar in 2154, the Gorn government, which is known as the Gorn Hegemony, "brew the finest Meridor in the five star systems". ( ) :This in combination of the appearance of a Gorn drinking from a glass in TAS indicates that they consume liquids. First contact with the Gorn took place in 2267, when they attacked the Federation colony on Cestus III. The Gorn saw the strike as a pre-emptive move, since they regarded the Cestus star system as part of their territory. ( ) While on the Enterprise in 2268, Benjamin Sisko admitted to Jadzia Dax that he would like to ask Kirk about the fight with the Gorn captain during this encounter. ( ) A Gorn served on the ruling council of the pocket dimension Elysia, during the late 23rd century. It is unknown how long members of his species had been trapped in that universe. ( ) Physical Characteristics Gorn are a cold-blooded, reptilian species with green, leathery skin and an average height of approximately two meters. They tend to be stronger than most humanoids. Their ears are simple holes on the sides of their skulls. The eyes of some Gorn are silvery and faceted, much like the compound eyes of insectoid arthropods, while others maintain typical humanoid eyes complete with pupils. Their mouths boast an impressive array of sharp carnivorous teeth, and their hands and feet have vicious claws. They have a size and bite radius similar to the now-extinct velociraptors. ( ; ) :The silvery faceted appearance on the eyes was missing in ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II"; some fans speculate that this is a membrane (or a manufactured prosthesis akin to contact lenses) that covers the eye and stops exceedingly bright light from potentially blinding the being. Since the lights on the Defiant were much dimmer than the bright surface of Cestus III, it can be argued that the Gorn did not require the presence of such a structure to function normally. In the remastered episode of TOS: "Arena", the Gorn Captain has a primary set of outer eyelids and he clearly has compound eyes associated with insects which may suggest two different races of Gorn that evolved differently. Although the eye biology may still be similar to Vulcans who have a second set of eyelids. :This may harmonize with non-canon background information provided in the FEDERATION SPACE board game, © 1981, published by Task Force Games, which indicates that a Gorn confederation formed when three separate but nearly identical sentient species, each having developed on a different planet, (Gdhar I, Gdhar II, and Gdhar III, presumably in the Gdhar system,) joined into a single political entity. (See also Star Fleet Universe.) Humans may tend to underestimate Gorn because of an opinion that reptiles are somehow less intelligent than mammals. This would be unwise; the Gorn are at least as intelligent as Humans. ( ) Like most cold-blooded lifeforms, the Gorn are known to prefer warm temperatures. ( ) Technology As of the late 23rd century, Gorn technology was at a generally similar level to the Federation. Their ships were fast enough that Constitution class vessels had to push their engines to dangerous speeds to overtake them. Their weapons were described as "like phasers, only worse" by a survivor of the Cestus attack. (This description may also have been colored by fear, as they were later described as disruptors). Gorn shields were capable of taking a full barrage of phaser and photon torpedo fire with little or no appreciable damage. They have transporter technology and possess voice duplicator equipment at least good enough to fool a casual listener. Gorn ground tactical units utilize powerful disruptors, capable of completely disintegrating targets at ranges of between 1200 and 1500 yards. Sensor technology may be less effective than that of the Federation, as they had some difficulty targeting the landing party during their ambush at Cestus III. They were able to feed back impulses from a tricorder, building up an overload sufficient to destroy the instrument. ( ) Starship classes * Gorn warship ( ) * Gorn starship ( ) People * Slar (mirror universe) - slave master of [[USS Defiant (NCC-1764)|USS Defiant]] (NCC-1764) salvage team. ( ) * Unnamed Gorn Appendices Appearances * TOS: "Arena" * TAS: "The Time Trap" * ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II" Background The Gorn's costume was designed by Wah Chang who also created the M-113 creature (aka the salt vampire). In 2003, John Logan said in an interview with Star Trek: Communicator that Riker's bachelor party in Star Trek Nemesis would feature "three Andorians, two Tellarites and a Gorn". The final version of the movie did not feature this scene however, meaning "Arena", "The Time Trap", and "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II" remain the only appearances of the Gorn to date. Apocrypha The graphic novel The Gorn Crisis is the story of Jean-Luc Picard's attempt to ally with the Gorn in the Dominion War despite a Gorn civil war. The novel Articles of the Federation states that the Gorn fought in the Dominion War on the Federation's side. The crew of the ''Enterprise'' helped to convince them to join the fight against the Dominion, presumably a reference to The Gorn Crisis. Category:Species de:Gorn fr:Gorn